Kale is king when it comes to nutrition and taste. Along with other superfoods like spinach and broccoli, it is one of the nutritional stand-outs among foods since it provides very high doses of essential vitamins and minerals that we need everyday in just 1 cup.

Low in calories and high in fiber, it can help your body fight weight gain when eaten on a regular basis. Kale delivers a good dose of manganese as well to help control blood sugar levels (which means you can stave off hunger pangs more readily).

For a vegetable, kale is unusually high in protein. Studies on good quality protein show that getting enough protein throughout the day can not only keep you feeling fuller longer, with less calories, but it can also help concentration.

We're still trying to clean up in Hoboken after Hurricane Sandy left, and I'm reminded more than ever how important safety and good health is.

After the big storm, many of the restaurants in town and across the river in New York City are struggling to get back on their feet, which makes cooking at home a necessity. Using up odds and ends from my freezer last week, I spied a bag of shredded coconut along with some salted macadamia nuts.

So, mixing fresh ingredients with frozen, I made a hot dessert for my neighbors without electricity. Get the recipe after the jump and check here for other crockpot baked apple recipes...

It's pretty common knowledge these days that being a full-time mommy is one of the most demanding jobs out there. But just because mom is busy doesn't mean that she doesn't feel stronger about food, in fact all my "mommy" friends out there are foodies too!

My friends gracefully balance raising their kids, running a household and sometimes even another job plus being a great cook and entertainer.

Add preparing delicious, fast and easy meals for sometimes picky kids into the mix and it's enough to make even the most "together" mama go crazy.

There is no question about it, what we eat affects the quality of our skin. I've never been one with a porcelain-perfect complexion but I've seen a huge different in the color, texture and glow of my skin since I changed my eating habits.

So here are my top three eating and beauty secrets to help you maintain beautiful skin through the fall and winter months--oh, and don't forget to drink plenty of water, too!

TurmericTurmeric is a potent root that grows in Indian and Indonesia that is sometimes used fresh in juices and fish dishes, but is in many dried and ground for curries powders. According to ancient Ayurveda medicine and yogis, turmeric is the gold standard when it comes to health well beyond just skin care.

I love to grill, and it can be a wonderful, healthy and easy option for dinner. But once the weather cools down, and the grill is packed up, don't think that you can't enjoy delicious grilled vegetables! Grilled vegetables retain their nutrients, and are a delicious option for a main course, or side dish any time of year.

To start, pick your veggies!A few vegetables that I love to grill with include:- Red or green peppers- Corn- Eggplant- Mushrooms- Zucchini- Tomatoes

Those are a few of my favorites, but you can truly grill any kind of vegetable. I've experimented with grilled green beans, asparagus, and onions--they really give a nice crunch!

Box cakes can be easy fast why to make a dessert for a group, without much planning. But making it more festive is easy and attainable, even if you don't love to bake. Start with a plain flavor, like vanilla, classic yellow, French vanilla, marble, chocolate, or Devil's food.

Make the BaseCut the calories and fat in the base by eggs white in place of whole eggs. Cut the oil to 1/4 cup and use light oil instead of corn oil for a better fat. To add more fiber, sprinkle in 2 tablespoons of ground flax to the mix, and decrease baking time by about 5 minutes.

Terrific ToppingsGourmet Whip: Looking for an all natural sweet topping for your cake? Maple Cream pictured above is delectable and looks gorgeous. I found it through a company called Tonewood, a small farm where you can also adopt a maple tree.

Berry Delicious: Making a berry sauce is simple and healthy. Take 1 cup of frozen or fresh raspberries, blueberries or cherries. Add 1/4 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat and then cool.

Cool and Creamy: Store bought whipped topping are low in nutrition and can be loaded with preservatives and high fructose corn syrup. Make your own with plain low-fat Greek yogurt. For one cup add 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. Stir well and serve along side your favorite cake, my pick would be Devil's food.

Warm chicken and vegetables are a true comfort when you walk through the door after a long day at work. This slow cooker version is so easy that you can put it together in 5 minutes before you leave the house, and it cooks while you work.

There are plenty of easy ways to sneak spinach into foods that a vegetable hater will love and not even know it! I tuck it into tacos, enchiladas, blend it in smoothies with dark cherries and mango, make popsicles with blueberries and even use it in place of lettuce on sandwiches.

So why spinach?

I call spinach the “super hero” of the veggie world since it’s bursting with vitamins and minerals - in fact it contains extremely high levels of micronutrients compared to other vegetables.

Spinach is best if stored in your crisper drawer and consumed within a few days of purchase. I love pre-washed, organic baby spinach leaves that are ready to toss into a dish.

When choosing spinach, just be sure that the leaves are firm, not creased and the texture of the leaves are smooth and dry. Nothing cooks faster than tender baby spinach and doesn’t need to be precooked when added to dishes for a last minute nutrition and color boost. Add it to soups, stews, sauces, and cook just one additional minute. Avoid overcooking it since excess heat and boiling can damage water-soluble vitamins, like C, B6, and B1.

I recently attended the seventh annual StarChefs.com International Chefs Congress, where the theme was Origins and Frontiers: The Archaeology of Modern Cuisine. There were plenty of traditional food products like olive oil and wine to taste but on the other side seriously amped up techno toys that put me in a cold sweat.

With the rise of food movements like molecular gastronomy and highly skilled bloggers, precision tools like sous vide are always in high demand. When I used to work at Blue Hill, I spent hours standing in front of theses types of machines, vacuum-packing farm raised cuts of meat, turning dials, pulling levers, and pressing buttons.

I chatted with Chef Gerard about sous vide cooking, and he told me of an entire training program built around sous vide where you can travel to Paris and take classes with notables in the food scene, even if you are not working professionally in the food business.

I tasted his delectable Australian grassfed lamb, crusted in macadamia nuts with a goat cheese polenta puree--all cooked sous vide, wondering how I could sweet talk my husband into dipping into our savings account for that one.

I recently wrote an article for MindBodyGreen about kale and libido, and during my research on my new book 50 Shades of Kale I was excited to learn that there really are healthy foods out there than can have an effect on your sex life, and that aphrodisiac foods aren't necessarily a myth.

So I wanted to feature three superfoods for sex drive, so you can warm things up as the weather turns cooler this fall. And perhaps, come February you'll have the steamiest Valentine's Day yet. ...

KaleKale is a fountain of youth when it comes to nutrient content. And it contains many nutrients that can balance your hormone levels. “Your hormones have a tremendous effect on your libido” say sex health experts. B vitamins play a big role in decreasing stress and balance hormone levels in men, and kale contains several in good quantities. Vitamin B6 has long been publicized as a cure for premenstrual syndrome (PMS), but only when eaten in natural sources...not in supplement form.